October 11, 2011

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail (National Historic Park) goes 153 miles from Washington D.C to Cumberland, Maryland.  A few years back I biked approx 100 miles of the trail from Antietam, Md to Cumberland, MD.  This is a fabulous trail. Even though David and I are trip tired and ready to go home, this is an opportunity neither one of us want to miss. We only biked about 15 miles of the trail.  We saw a white tail deer crossing the path and met a man that was backpacking the entire trail.  He told us about a 60 mile rail trail in Pennsylvania that goes from Jersey Shore to Williamsboro,  add it to the list.  It was a very, very nice wind down to the trip.

Next destination HOME!!!   This has been a fantastic, unforgettable adventure.  It was filled with amazing places, the most beautiful scenery, charismatic animals (no bear) and nice people.     But…. There’s No Place Like Home!

Oct 9, 2011  Headed East we’re formulating a plan and we’re all over the place. Home sounds good, but there is so much to see.  We really want to go to  the Great Smoky Mountains National Park  so we call for reservations.  None available but, there are some first come, first serve available.  We head that way and end up in a traffic jam.  Not thinking, it’s Foliage Time in the Smokies.  The traffic was so bad you’d think you were in New York City.

Our travel intuition, otherwise known as tiredness, says skip it and wait until June 2012.  We already have plans and reservations to do a drag racing mini circuit Bristol, TN – Chicago, IL – Norwalk, OH.  We haven’t finished this rip and we’re ready for the next.

This adventure is not over yet, We need a place to stop for the night and rest our travel weary bones.  We end up in what appears to be a campground that is closed for the season, in Dandridge, TN. I call it the God Bless America campground.  On the side of a building is painted a HUGE American Flag, above it is painted God Bless America.  When David called for reservations, The owner told him to call when we got to the gate. When we got to the gate the owner gave us the code to the  lock and told us to put the fee in the lock box.  We share this Smoky Mountain Gem with one other couple, Lamar and Glenda from Alabama, nice, nice people.  Of course we talk for awhile and now have added Alabama to our list of places to visit.  It’s never ending.

Oct 10, 2011  The name of the game now is mileage.  No more stops planned.  After 40 days on the road, we’re going home. We stop for the night at The Falling Waters Campground in West Virginia, just outside Maryland ($33).  It’s 5 miles from a trail head of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail.  A few years back I biked the trail from Antietam to Cumberland, Maryland.  I’m not going to let this opportunity without sharing a least a part of the experience with David.

Next stop Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail.

Oct 8 – 9, 2011  On to Arkansas … Drove through Fort Smith and put it on our list of places to stop “next time”.  It looks like a cool western town.  We are on a mission to get to the Hot Springs National Park.  It is what we expected and not what we expected.  The best way I can describe it is odd, but enjoyable.  It’s a National Park that zig zags through a town.  Only one “Hot Spring” to touch.  Lots of bath houses and spas to “rejuvenate” and relax your wallets.  We thoroughly enjoyed the hiking trails. One led up a mountain to a great lookout.  For $$ you can ride an elevator to the top or you could walk the stairs for free.  We took the elevator.  There was a very small but  informative museum.  One of the hiking trails took us through the back door of a hotel, down a hallway to a staircase leading to the lobby and out the front door.  That was very odd, but interesting.

Of all the things I’ve learned about traveling on this trip, I think the most helpful is,  learn a little about the place your going before you go.  All National Parks have a museum or visitors center with information.  Go there first.  Another helpful thing is talking to people that have already been there.  Some of the tips, suggestions and recommendations we’ve gotten have been invaluable.

Honorable mention goes to the owner of the Lakeside Campground in Salislaw, Arkansas where we stayed. She was just the friendliest lady.

If you’re a history buff,  Hot Springs, Arkansas is full of it.  Visiting was fun, different, eclectic!   Next Stop Rocky Mountain National Park in Tennessee.

Oct 5, 2011  Driving along the road leading into the Petrified Forest I don’t see any trees, only desert.  Hmmmm!  Good thing we stop at the Museum first and watch the 20 minute movie.  Wow!  I’m loving  all this! A forest of fossil trees! It’s America’s very real Triassic Park.  I’m going to tell the Grands to pay attention in school.  I know I must have learned a lot of this when I went to school, but I must not have paid attention.  The brochure said allow 2 hours for both the Forest and Desert.  We were there all day.  It’s a “wonder” how nature brings out the natural color and beauty of everything here.  It’s Mother Natures grand magic show.   There was one hike that we didn’t do. It was listed as 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  The views and history of the area are amazing.  You can’t just drive through, you have to get out and walk.  National Parks and Historic Places let you get right up and close to so much.

We still have to find a place to stay for the night.  Our plan is to be in Albuquerque, New Mexico early tomorrow for The Hot Hair Balloon Fiesta.

Oct 5 – 8, 2011  At 7:30 p.m. we finally stop in Grants,  New Mexico at The Lavaland RV Park ($19), about an hour outside of Albuquerque.  We have to be up at 4:30 a.m. to make the 5:30 a.m. start.  The Festivities are all day, but the balloons need cool air. Balloon times are 5:30 – 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.   We need to catch the morning activities because we are now heading east and there is some funky weather coming in behind us.  Albuquerque is still high in elevation, 7,000 +.  When we left the North Rim they were preparing to close the campground in anticipation of the first snow fall.  Yellowstone campgrounds were  already closed.

Oct 6, 2011  The early bird catches the worm.  It’s cool, but unfortunately it’s too windy for the balloons to go up. They have to stay tethered.  It was Specialty Balloon Day. There were over 100 balloons. Some balloons were from far away countries, like Brazil and France. David  had never been to a balloon festival. I had been to Balloons over Bristol.  No comparison.  This was over the top!  There was a Darth Vader balloon and the crew were all dressed as Star Wars characters.  Noah’s Ark was pretty cool. There were just all fun. The atmosphere  was VERY festive and upbeat.  Who knew people could look good and have fun that early in the morning!

We had to leave at 8:30 a.m.  The wind was picking up.  The plan was for me to drive some on  I 40  through NM, TX, OK .  Straight, Straight, Straight … it was time to head home and we thought we were pressing our luck with the weather.  We were in a wind storm beyond belief.  I told David to call me Dorothy.  Needless to say, poor David was stuck driving until he was exhausted.   We finally stopped in Texas at a 5 star campground with an indoor heated pool and hot tub.  The Amarillo Ranch RV Park in guess which town?  We rock and rolled in the camper all night . It felt like I was a baby being rocked in a cradle.  Unfortunately, it was not comforting.

Oct 7, 2011 More wind.  We’re on the road early, and see the sunrise  as we cross into Oklahoma.  It’s funny how the Texas pan handle is so barren, but when you cross over to Oklahoma you get color and some trees.  Still you can see for miles.  Today we’re headed for Camping World.  We have a broken toilet seat, shower hose, leaky skylight and we’ve lost our poop hose cover, again.  Mr Fix it’s list never ends even on the road. Maybe Old Bessie is telling us she’s ready to go home.  We didn’t do anything in Oklahoma except drive and stop at an unmemorable campground.  Next Stop Hot Springs, Arkansas.  We will take a break here.

Oct 5, 2011  In route from the North Rim to the Petrified forest on Hwy 89A we are treated AGAIN to a view filled “by way”.  On the side of the road we spot huge balancing stones and an ancient stone house.  Of course we have to stop.  This is not a tourist trap.  There isn’t anyone collecting fees. You just walk through the house and around the balancing stone, take as many photos as you want.  There is a family of Navajo Indians selling a few handmade trinkets.  They have a van and a table. They are wonderful  to talk to and “barter” with. I “negotiate” the purchase of five beautiful handmade dream catchers for the grands.  I was very excited because I had almost purchased “made in Taiwan” dream catchers at a gift shop. These are beautifully crafted and “authentic”.   The price was all the cash I had in my pocket.  I wished I had more to give.  These were such nice people and from some of the poverty ridden areas that we had traveled through I appreciated their friendliness and their skills.

I  write about all the beautiful places and sites, but there are some that are not so nice and very sad.  In such a wealthy Country,  it’s hard to believe people and animals have to live in such hardship.

We stop for the night in Holbrook, Arizona just a few miles from the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.  We pay too much for the OK RV Park (this is the real name of it) $27.53.  There is nothing here, but it’s close to the Hwy.   The up side is the take out Mexican restaurant across the street.  The building looks like a McDonalds that went out of business.  We’re tired and hungry, so David walked across the street and came back with DELICIOUS homemade Mexican dinners. The two meals were enough for 4.  We’re glad we stayed here. Next Stop Petrified Forest.

Oct 2 – 4, 2011  We’ve been so lucky winging it with first come, first serve and “luck of the draw” campsites,  we weren’t  expecting the CAMPGROUND FULL sign at the Grand Canyon. We were able to get a site for the next night.  The ranger at the front entrance gave us a map and suggested “disperse camping”.  We pick a road in the Kaibab National Forest , very close to the Grand Canyon and pull off to the side of the road.  It was kind of creepy, but cool.  We are parked 3 miles from the East Rim of the Grand Canyon. Never heard of it. David says “You might think I’m crazy (which I know, but never say) but what do you think of we get up before sunrise and drive out to the east rim?”  I’m all for it, very romantic.  Beside I’m going to be staying up most of the night watching for bear and the rest of the night I’m going to be looking for axe murderers. Getting up early works for me!

Oct 3, 2011  ANOTHER treat.  Up this bumpy dirt road in the dark, animals just waking up scattering away along the sides of the road as we pass.  We arrived at a small parking lot with not a soul to be seen. David and I had the Grand Canyon all to ourselves. We watched a magnificent  sunrise.  Then we went back to Old Bessie and made breakfast.  We watched a few hunters in ATV’s drive through the lot. Otherwise it was just us and the Grand Canyon.

Back to the park and our “reservation”.  The North Rim view was not as thrilling for us, only because we had been to the South Rim.  There is nothing comparable to the very first time you see the “Grandness”!   The Angel Point viewing trail and the Rim Trail made the stop well worth going.  It is hard to get around the park in the RV and parking at the trail heads is almost non existent for cars let alone an RV..  It is also not a bicycle friendly park. So we are limited to where we can explore.  I fell in love with The Kaibab squirrel’s.  They have these awesome huge white fluffy tails and fun personalities. They dodge and dart up and down and all around the trees in the park.  As hard as I tried, I couldn’t get a squirrel photo. They are very quick.

Travel Tale … I’m sitting at the kitchen table  writing in my journal and I get the surprise of a lifetime.  It’s dark, quiet, David is already in bed, I’ve only got an over the table light on.  A mouse, I’ve now named Mickey, comes walking out from the over the cab bunk, jumps down onto the  back of the couch takes a few steps toward me. At first I’m in shock. Then he starts running back and forth on the back of the couch. Now this sounds pretty dumb, but I stand up on the bench seat and start screaming.   David comes running “stark naked” out of the bedroom.  I’m yelling “mouse, mouse”. He’s yelling “throw a towel on it, throw a towel on it”.   The mouse disappears.  I’m standing on the seat and David is standing in the isle naked.  did we look silly?  Apparently while we were disperse camping we had picked up a “hitchhiker”.  We know it had been around for awhile. When David went to get his potato chips from the overhead cupboard, the next day, the bag had been opened and quite a few chips were missing.    Too bad I didn’t get a photo of David’s face!  He has a hard time sharing his snacks with anyone let alone a mouse.

Oct 4, 2011 We woke up early again, this time for the sunrise at Angel’s Point.  To walk out on the jutpuxation into the  canyon and watch the colors of the canyon come alive was thrilling. You are surrounded on three sides by Canyon.  Much more than a Wow! Wow!   Before we leave I have to go to the gift shop and buy postcards with photos of the Kaibab Squirrels.  The whole time we are here I’ve been trying to take a photo of one. Those little critters dodged my camera the whole time.  I go in and buy a half dozen postcards, David is waiting in the RV to leave.  There is a Kaibab posing for some tourists.  I grab my camera and click, click, click, I get a few very cute photos.  Do you think he knew?   Next stop Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.